Box blank setting up machine



May 24, 1955 L. PERILLI BOX BLANK SETTING UP MACHINE Filed Jan. 11, 1951 6 Sheets-$heet l I I m g IF aazi; Pefalla' {glow May 24, 1955 L. PERILLI 2,708,862 BOX BLANK SETTING up MACHINE Filed Jan. 11, 1951 s Sheets-Sheet? UI- I-- [Iv/yam? i eat}; Perz'lz) May 24, 1955 L. PERILLI BOX BLANK SETTING UP MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 11, 1951 May 24, 1955 PERILLI BOX BLANK SETTING UP Filed Jan. 11, 1951 MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 .11: =L' I I 57. 75 25 1 5 2 1 J g g gwa ,g y 9?]! 17.9

jna'eiziar Lanai; Perfllr) May 24, 1955 I. PERILLI BOX BLANK SETTING UP MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 11, 1951 [Man er jazz/e35 P6 May 24, 1955 1. PERILLI 2,708,862

BOX BLANK SETTING UP MACHINE Filed Jan. 11, 1951 e Sheets-Sheet 6 United States Patent BOX BLANK SETTING UP MACHINE Louis Perilli, Waltham, Mass. Application January 11, 1951, Serial No. 205,484 6 Claims. or. 93-49 This invention relates to apparatus for setting up boxes and more especially to a machine for operating on flat blanks, the foldable parts of which initially lie in a common plane.

In my application for setting up box blanks, Ser. No.

78.375, filed February 25, 1949, now U. S. Patent No. 1

positions, fold the end wall flaps into engagement inside the end walls, and the locking tongue over the edge of the end flaps, and then insert the locking tongue through the slots in the bottom, thus to set up the entire blank from a perfectly flat condition, and hence to eliminate costly prefolding or special treatment of the blank before setting up. Further objects are to provide a machine which is of comparatively simple construction, rapid and efficient in its operation, and durable. Other objects are to provide a machine in which there is improved feeding means to insure delivery of but one blank at a time to the folding instrumentalities, improved locating means for bringing the blank into exact registry with the operating instrumentalities, and improved folding means which will erect one wall ahead of the other so that the end flaps will not catch edge on edge.

As herein illustrated, and in accordance with the foregoing objects, the machine has a support upon which fiat box blanks may be placed for setting up, and a plurality of operating instrumentalities for setting up the blanks to form a box, which include a hold-down member movable into engagement with the bottom of the blank for holding it against the support, end wall elevators including tuck flap elevators for raising the end walls and tuck flaps, and side wall elevators for raising the side walls. As constructed there is mechanism for raising the end wall elevators partially from prone positions subjacent to the blank through angles of approximately 45 to lift the end walls through approximately 45 to inclined positions. At the same time, the tuck flap elevator means lift the tuck flaps ahead of the end walls so that they precede them and project a little way inwardly against the inside surfaces of the end walls. Next, while the end walls rest at approximately 45 of elevation, the side wall elevating means rise, lifting the side walls in such a manner that one precedes the other to its vertical position, thus. permitting the tuck flaps of the wall raised to its upright position first to move inwardly of the end walls ahead of the tuck flaps of the other wall, and hence behind them. Following complete elevation of the side walls, the end wall elevators resume movement to erect the end. walls .to their vertical positions, whereupon locking. flap members carried by the end wall elevator memiii bers, fold the locking flaps inwardly and downwardly into engagement with the inside surfaces of the tuck flaps within the box, and force the locking tongues into the slots at the bottom of the box. The flat blanks are delivered to the support by feeding means which include a feed roll having an arcuate traction member on it which, at each rotation of the roll, will draw a blank from a pile of blanks resting on a hopper at the rear side of the feed rolls forwardly and deliver it to the place of setting up. The feed roll is constructed automatically to compensate for wear of'the traction member and to yield as a blank passes beneath it. There is also a yieldable finger located close to the bottom side of the feed roll to hold back all of the blanks except the one directly engaged with the traction member.

To register the blank with the operating instrumentalities, there are associated with the support gauge fingers between which the blanks are deposited by the feed roll, and these are thereafter movable to shift the blank both longitudinally and laterally of the support prior to movement of the hold-down 'into operative position. The forward ones of the guide fingers are arranged to be drawn below the support, moved rearwardly of the blank while the latter is being set up, raised behind the blank and then to be moved forwardly after the blank is set up and the operating instrumentalities have been retracted to eject the completed blank from the machine.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the machine looking down at the top;

Fig. 3a is a plan view of approximately half of a flat box blank;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 4a is a detail of the combined stop fingers and discharge means;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section to larger scale of the operating instrumentalities for raising the side walls of the blank;

Fig. 6 is a plan view to larger scale showing a box blank in phantom superimposed on the operating instrumentalities for raising both its sides and ends;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section to larger scale showing one of the operating instrumentalities for raising the end walls in its initial and an intermediate position;

Fig. 8 is a similar View showing the end wall operating instrumentalities in an intermediate position and fully raised position;

Fig. 9 is a still further view showing the tongue folding instrumentalities lowered inside of the box so as to fold the locking flap into engagement with the inside and force the locking tongue into the slot in the bottom;

Fig. 10 is a transverse vertical section through the main feeding means; and

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal vertical section through the main feeding means.

The instant machine is for the purpose of operating upon box blanks in such manner as to raise their sides and ends to substantially vertical positions, and to lock the parts thereof so as to provide a permanently set up box.

The box blanks as shown in Fig. 3a are die cut from paper stock, scored and slotted, and are supplied fiat to the customer for setting up and use. As herein illustrated, the blank has a substantially rectangular bottom b along opposite edges of which are sides ww divided from the bottom by score lines ss. At opposite ends of the bottom are end walls ee divided from the bottom by score lines s-s, and these have at their extremities locking flaps ff of corresponding area, which terminate in locking tongues t-t. Cuts cc are formed near the ends of the bottom close to the junction of the end walls with the bottom for receiving the tongues tt as will appear hereinafter. At the ends of each side wall there are tuck flaps da' divided therefrom by score lines s. The machine receives blanks such as just described perfectly fiat and then operates upon them first to raise the end Walls e-e through about 45 inclination and the tuck flaps a corresponding amount, then to fold the side walls w-w in such manner that one precedes the other to its vertical position, and simultaneously to further fold the tuck flaps d--d inwardly, then to further fold the end walls e-e upwardly against the tuck flaps d-d, then to fold the end locking flaps ff over the upper edges of the tuck flaps, and downwardly on the inside, and finally to insert the locking tongues t-t into the cuts c--c so as to lock the parts together. In practice, the walls w--w are not raised simultaneously, but one is erected ahead of the other so as to bring its tuck flaps d-d inside of the tuck flaps d--d of the opposite wall without catching one on the other.

The machine for operating on the blanks so as to set them up, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 2, includes a place of setting up or support 10, to which the flat blanks are fed for setting up by feeding means 12. Upon delivery to the place of setting up, hold-down means 14 engages the bottom of the blank and holds it in place while side wall and end wall erecting instrumentalities 16 and 18 (Fig. 3) operate upon the sides and ends. The foregoing parts are mounted in cooperating relation with each other together with suitable mechanism for effecting their operation in a frame 20 (Fig. 1).

As illustrated in Fig. l, the frame 20 consists of a base having four legs 22 rigidly joined at their upper ends to horizontal rectangularly arranged angle bars 24-, and near their lower ends by forwardly and rearwardly extending braces 26 between which there extends a cross brace 28 which serves as a support for a motor M. Rising from the top of the base are spaced, parallel frame plates 30, joined near the front and rear edges by transversely extending, horizontally disposed plates 32. The plates 30 have integral, upwardly extending portions of narrower width 34 rising from the cross braces 32which are joined near their upper ends by a cross brace 36.

The support 10 for receiving the flat blanks in a position to be operated upon is constituted by spaced forwardly and rearwardly extending plates 38, and 42 (Fig. 3) resting on and secured to the transversely extending braces 32-62. The supporting plate 40 extends rearwardly of the frame as shown in Fig. l and has standing upright therefrom, a vertical post 44 to the upper end of which is pivotally fastened a bracket 46. A hopper consisting of a bottom wall 48 and vertical side walls 50 is fastened to the bracket 46 and may be .3

adjusted to incline its bottom 48 toward cooperating feed rolls 52 and 54. The forward end of the hopper rests on a bar 55 extending transversely of the machine in a horizontal position, its ends being fixed in the wall plates 3434. Adjustment of the inclination of the hopper is effected by rotation of a nut 43 mounted on the lower end of the post 44 which is screw threaded.

The upper feed roll 52 is divided into two sections 52a52a (Fig. 11) and .is mounted on a horizontal shaft 56 which is journaled in bearings 58 (Fig. 2) suspended by hangers 60 which are fastened by bolts 62 to a horizontal, transversely extending bar 64, the opposite ends of which are fixed to the wall plates 3434. The bolts 62 extend through horizontal slots 66 in the bar 64 so that lateral adjustment of the bearings may be had if desired. A brake band 61 embraces the shaft 56, one end being attached by a bolt 63 passing through the slot in the bar 64, and the other end being yieldably connected to the bolt by a spring 65. This prevents overrun of the shaft due to momentum.

The feed roll sections 52a-52u have on an areuate portion of their external surfaces a strip of rubber which is somewhat tacky and which serves to pull the blanks forwardly from beneath the stack resting on the hopper. As the rubber strip wears, it is desirable that the roll automatically adjust itself so that it will be effective regardless of the thickness of the strip and so that the roll will yield as the blank passes between it and the bottom roll. To this end (Figs. 10 and 11) each roll comprises a drum 55 having a diametral web 57 in which there is an enlarged hole 59 through which the shaft 56 passes. Also mounted on the shaft are two discs 61, each of which has a hub 63 at its outside which extends into the inside of the drum 55 into contact with the diametral web 57. On the shaft 56 at opposite sides of each web there is a compression spring 65 held between the web and a collar 67 fast to the shaft under compression. A washer 69 placed between the end of the spring and the web provides a bearing surface. The springs are so arranged that they normally tend to exert a clockwise force on the rolls, as indicated in Fig. 10, so as always to hold the surface of the roll in contact with the lower roll 54. Fixed to and projecting outwardly from each web is a pin 71, the extremity of which passes through an enlarged hole 73 in the web 57. The hole 73 is large enough so that the drums 55 can shift relative to the shaft 56 by the thickness of the rubber strips 53. When the strips are new and of full thickness, the discs will yield to permit the strip to pass over the roll 54 without binding. As the strip becomes thinner, the springs 65 bias the drums in directions to keep the rubber strips in contact with the lower feed roll until they are completely wornaway, and at the same time permit the drums to yield as the blanks pass between the rolls.

In order to prevent more than one blank at a time from being dragged between the rolls, a stop is provided. The stop consists of a resilient finger 73 (Fig. 10) made of flat or round wire bent double and arranged with its bent end 75 projecting upwardly into the space between the discs 61 close to their under sides. The rear ends of the finger are fastened to a bracket 77 pivoted on a pin 79 which is fast to a support 81. A height adjusting screw 83 threaded through the support 81 so that its end bears against the under side of the bracket, provides means for adjusting the heightwise position of the stop.

The lower feed roll 54 is of smaller diameter than the upper feed roll and approximately as long as the blank to be fed. The feed roll 54 is mounted on a horizontal shaft 68, the ends of which are journaled in the walls 34-34, and gears 70 and 72 are mounted respectively on the shafts 66 and 68 to effect rotation of these rolls in directions to feed blanks from the hopper inwardly to a position above the support 10.

' The hold-down 14 for holding the blank in place on the support consists of a pair of spaced, vertically disposedparallel plates 7474 (Fig. 2), the lower edges of which are parallel with the upper surface of the support. The plates 7474 are arranged for vertical movement to and from the support, and to this end are fastened to the lower ends of flanges 76 (Fig. 1')- extending downwardly from anchor plates 78, the latter being fastened to a vertically arranged slide plate extending forwardly and rearwardly of the machine,

and having its opposite edges slidably engaged with spaced vertically disposed ways 82 formed in a bracket 84 (Fig. 3) which has at its rear end a flange 86 by which it is bolted to the bar 64 (Fig. 2). A link 88 is pivotally fastened to the top of the slide plate 80 and has its upper end pivotally fastened to an arm 90. The arm 90 is fixed to a horizontally arranged shaft 92 suspended from the cross brace 36 in a pair of spaced hearing straps 94-94 (Fig. 2). An arm 96 is fast to the shaft 92 and has pivotally secured to its free end a link 98 (Figs. 2 and 4) which extends downwardly along the inside of the Wall 34 to a point just below the cross aforesaid linkage, a rod forked at its lower end, is

pivoted to the arm 100, extends upwardly therefrom through an car 97 fast to the wall 34, and has on it a compression spring 99.

The side wall erecting means 14 are mounted in recesses 1'04 and 106 cut in the upper surfaces of the supports 38 and 42 (Fig. 5) so as to be flush with the upper surfaces thereof, and consists of four plates (Fig. 3) a pair of rear spaced plates 108, and a pair of forward spaced plates 110 pivoted for movement from the horizontal plane of the support upwardly to substantially vertical positions. Each plate has at its inner edge and near one end, as shown in Fig. 3, an ear 112 pivotally mounted on a horizontal pin 114 mounted in a block 115 which in turn is fastened by a bolt 117 to a strip 119' welded or otherwise secured to the under side of the support 38 or 42 as the case may be. Slots in the blocks 115 permit adjustment of their spacing. On the under side of each of the plates 108 and 110,

there is fixed an arm 122, the lower end of which is P Y Secured to the upp end of a link Th6 e and is pivotally fastened to a transversely extending shaft lower ends of the links 124 are joined by pivot pins 126 to the opposite ends of links 128. A pivot pin 130 connects one end of each link 132 to the center of each of the links 128. A block 134 fast to each link 132 overlies the link 128 as seen at the left in Fig. 5,

and a spring 136 is interposed between the block and the link 128. As thus constructed, when the link 132 is raised, the right end of the link 128 will rise ahead of the left side, due to the depressing effect of the spring 136. Accordingly, the rear wall elevating plates 10'8108 will rise ahead of the front wall elevating plates 110 and asseen in Fig. 5, when the rear wall elevating plates 108 are completely elevated, the front wall elevating plates are only partially elevated.

The end wall elevating means 16 consists of the tuck flap folding means 140 and 142, end wall elevating means 144 and locking flap folding means 146 (Fig. 6). The end elevating means 144 are in the form of plates which are hinged on pins 148 journaled in spaced ears 150 formed integral with the supports 38 and 42 for movement from a horizontal plane as shown in Fig. 7

upwardly as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, to vertical positions. The outer end of each plate 144 is provided with a pair of spaced arms 152 between which is fixed a pin 154 on which is journaled the locking flap folding means 146. A link is pivotally connected at its upper end by a pin 162 to the inner end of the folding plate 146 and extends downwardly therefrom and is pivotally connected at 164 to a sleeve boss 166 fast on a shaft 163. Fast on the shaft 168 is an arm 170 which extends forwardly of the machine and is connected to a block 172 freely mounted on a shaft 174 extending transversely of the machine between the frame walls 30- 30. integral with and extending upwardly from the block 172 is an arm 176 having a follower 178 at its end which engages a earn 180 fast on a cam shaft 182. To hold the follower 178 in accurate contact with the cam, an arm is pivotally mounted on the block 172 and has a follower 177 thereon engaged with the under side of the cam and yieldably held in engagement therewith by a spring 179 interposed between the arm 175 and a web 181 on the block. An upright 184 is formed integral with each boss 166 so as to extend upwardly behind each link 160, and has at its upper end a pocket 186 in which there is placed a spring 188, the outer end of which projects from the 2 pocket into engagement with the rear side of the link. This takes up any slack in the movement of the parts.

The tuck flaps at the ends of the side walls are folded upwardly and inwardly by the members 140-142, which are pivotally mounted on pins 184 at the sides of the plate 144, and have forwardly projecting angular noses 141 which lie just beneath the extremities of the flaps (Fig. 6). Each block is fast to the upper end of a rod 187 (Fig. 7) which extends downwardly therefrom through a guide plate 189 welded or otherwise attached to the links 160.

On each of the front blocks 140 there is a vertical post 191 which rises from its rear outer corner sufliciently high to intercept the forward edge of a blank as it is delivered onto the support, in the event that it floats forward out of control, for example by reason of an air cushion trapped beneath it.

G11 the center support 40 (Figs. 2 and 4) there is hung a carriage which has spaced inwardly projecting lips 192 arranged slidably to engage tracks 194 along the opposite edges of the support 40. The carriage has at opposite sides thereof upright fingers 196-196 which serve both to limit the forward movement of the box blank as it is fed into the position to be operated upon, and to discharge the completely folded box from the machine. To this end the lower side of the carriage (Fig. 4a) has pivotally connected thereto one end of a link 198, the opopsite end of which is connected to a link 200 which extends downwardly through the base 202 fixed between the angles 24. Extending from a hub t the lower end of the link 200 is an arm 204 connected by a link 206 to a link 208. The forward end of the link 208 is connected to a horizontal shaft 210 to which there is also connected an arm 211, and this in turn is connected by a link 213 to the link 132. The fingers 196 project upright from arms 19'] pivotally mounted by pins 199 on posts 201, which in turn are pivoted on pins 203 to the carriage 190. The link 198 is pivotally fastened to the post 201 and at each side of the post is a toe 205. As thus constructed, forward movement of the link 198 causes the post 201 to tilt on the pin 203 and thus raise the fingers 196. Reverse movement of the link tilts the post 201 in the opposite direction and lowers the fingers 196. The fingers 196 are initially in a position to be engaged by the forward or leading edge of the box blank as it is deposited at the place of support, thus serving as a sto and then while the blank 13 held and folded, it is drawn downwardly below the support, rearwardly and then raised behind the box, where upon 1t 1s moved forwardly to push the completed box from the machine.

As the blanks are delivered by the feed rolls to the place of support it is necessary to guide them so that they will be properly located when the presser or holddown descends into engagement therewith. The guide fingers 196 as heretofore described, limit the forward movement of the blanks, however means must be provided for causing the blanks to move forward into engagement with these guides, and also to insure proper positloning of the blanks lengthwise, that is transversely of the machine. This is provided for by a pair of pins 212 and 214 (Figs. 3 and 6) at each side of the support, and at the rear side thereof, the pins 212 being so posi honed as to engage the end extremities of the tuck flaps, and the pins 214 to engage the rear edges of the tuck flaps. The pins 212 and 214 are fixed vertically to flat plates 216 mounted on the under side of the support on pins 222 (Figs. 3 and 4) the latter being connected at their lnner ends by a pivot pin 223. Extending rearwardly from the rear edges of the plates 216 are a pair or cars 2113 between which is stretched a tension spring 220 which normally tends to cause the plates to turn rearwardly in opposite directions about the pin 223'. Near the left end of the left-hand plate 216 (Figs. 3 and 4) there is a pin 224 which engages its rear edge. The

moved downwardly to clamp 21 box blank, the link 98 moves the arm 234 downwardly and through the aforesaid mechanism, causes the plates 216 to turn forwardly about their pivot 223 so as to move the pins 212 and 214 forwardly and inwardly to shift the box blank if it is slightly out of line, both laterally and longitudinally into proper position with its forward edge against the guides 196 and ready for clamping by the hold-down plates 74.

The scam shaft 182 provides the means for effecting operation of the various links and levers in their proper sequence, and is directly driven from gears contained in a gear box G (Fig. 2), the latter deriving their motion from the motor M (Fig. l), which has on it a pulley 240 on which there is entrained a belt 244, the opposite end of which is entrained on a pulley 242 fixed on a shaft entering the gear box. Rotation of the cam shaft 182 effects movement of an arm 215 by way of a follower 217 and elliptical cam 236' fast on the cam shaft. The end of the arm 215 is connected to the lower end of a vertically reciprocable rack bar 238 (Fig. 2) slidably mounted on the inside of one of the frame plates 34.

Engaged with the rack bar is a rack gear 240 which drives a one revolution clutch 242 mounted on the shaft 56. During each cycle of operation of the machine, the shaft 56 is turned sufiiciently to feed a box blank to the place of setting up, and through the gears 70 and 72 to cause i the feed roll 54 to rotate simultaneously with the feed rolls 5211-5211. Following feeding of the blanks into position on the support, the cam 180 transmits motion through the arms 100a and 100 to the hold-down, which begins to descend into engagement with the support.

When the hold-down is about half way between its elevated and depressed positions, the lower end of the link 98 depresses the arm 234 and hence the arm 230, so as to move the positioning pins 212 and 214 inwardly and forwardly to shift the blank both transversely and longi- J tudinally into engagement with the stop pins 196. Following completion of the downward movement of the hold-down, thec am 180 rocks the arm 176 and hence the arm 170 in a clockwise direction (Fig. 4) to elevate the links 160 and hence to lift the end wall erecting plates 144. The plates 144 are elevated through an angle of approximately 45 from their horizontal position, whereupon they come to rest due to a dimple in the cam. At this point the side wall elevating plates 108-110 begin to rise. The links 132 through which motion is imparted to the side wall elevating plates are operated by the cam 133. Due to the connection of the links 132 with the links 128, the rear elevating plate 108 rises ahead of the front elevating plate 106. As thus constructed, the partial elevation of the end elevating plates 144 through approximately 45 lifts the end walls ee to the positions shown in Fig. 7 in which the end walls ee and lock flaps f]'' are inclined at about 45 from the horizontal. At the same time, the corner tuck flaps dd are partially raised by the blocks 140142, the noses 141 of which underlie the tuck flaps so that they are raised through a somewhat greater angle than the end walls and lie in positions to be folded inwardly inside of the end walls as shown in Fig. 7. As the rear wall elevating plate begins to fold the rear wall upwardly, the tuck flaps d-d connected to the rear wall begin to move inwardly along the inside surfaces of the walls ee ahead of the tuck flaps d--d which are integral with the ends of the front wall. The rear wall elevating plates precede the front wall elevating plate through their vertical position as illustrated in Fig. 5, so that the tuck flaps dd of the front wall will always slide inwardly inside of the tuck flaps of the rear wall. As the side wall elevating plates reach vertical positions, the cam 180 then effects renewed elevation of the end wall elevating plates so as to move them to vertical positions (Figs. 8 and 9). As the links 160 approach their upper limit of movement, shoulders 246 on the links move into engagement with the rear sides of the plates 144 and hold them vertical, while the final movement of the links pivots the locking flap plates 156 about their pivots 154 so as to fold the locking flaps fj" inwardly and downwardly into engagement with the inside of the tuck flaps dd. The terminal ends of the members 156 are concave so that as they move inwardly and downwardly at the insides of the ends of the box, they force the looking tongues t--t into the slots cc. To permit free passage of the tongues tt through the slots c-c, the supports 38 and 42 are provided with shallow recesses 248 (Fig. 9) subjacent to the slots. Following completion of the box, the folding instrumentalities retract, the hold-down is elevated, and the stop fingers 196 move forwardly to eject the box from the machine.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for setting up fiat box blanks of the kind having a bottom, sides and ends adapted to be folded upwardly therefrom, tuck flaps and locking tongues foldable over the ends and tuck flaps and engageable within slots at the junctions of the ends with the bottom, a place of setting up including a substantially fiat surface upon which may be placed a flat blank, a hold-down mounted for movement to and from the place of setting up, means for effecting movement of the hold-down from an outof-the-way position into engagement with the blank at the place of setting up, side and end wall elevators arranged circumferentially of the place of setting up substantially in the plane of the support, subjacent to the blank on the support, said elevators being movable relative to the support from said common plane to positions to fold the side and end walls to substantially right angular positions with respect to the bottom, and means to eifect movement of said elevators to cause the end elevators to rise to positions intermediate their prone and vertical positions, said means including a spring biased linkage common to both side wall elevators for raising the same from their prone positions to vertical positions in succession so that one precedes the other to its vertical position, and means thereafter to renew movement of the end wall elevators to complete their upward movement to vertical positions.

2. In a machine for setting up flat box blanks of the kind having a bottom, sides and ends adapted to be folded upwardly therefrom, tuck flaps and locking tongues foldable over the ends and tuck flaps and engageable within slots at the junctions of the ends with the bottom, a place of setting up including a flat support upon which may be placed a flat blank, a hold-down mounted for movement to and from the place of setting up, means for effecting movement of the hold-down from an out-of-the-way position into engagement with a blank at the place of setting up, side wall and end wall elevators arranged circumferentially of the place of setting up substantially in the plane of the support, subjacent to the blank on the support, said elevators being movable relative to the support from said common plane to positions to fold the side and end walls to substantially right angular positions with respect to the bottom, mechanism for effecting movement of said end wall elevators from prone positions to vertical positions with a pause in said upward movement part way between their prone and vertical positions, mechanism for effecting movement of the side wall elevators from prone positions to vertical positions during the pause in the elevation of the end walls, and means in said last-named mechanism operating to delay elevation of one of said side wall elevators so that the other precedes itto its verticalposition.

3. In a machine for setting up-fiat box blanks of the kind having a bottom, sides and ends adapted to be folded upwardly therefrom, tuck flaps and locking tongues foldable over the ends and tuck flaps and engageable within slots at the junctions of the ends with the bottom, a place of setting up including a substantially flat support, upon which may be placed a flat box blank, a hold-down mounted for movement to and from the place of setting up, means for effecting movement of the hold-down from an out-of-the-way position into engagement with a blank at the place of setting up, said side and end wall elevators being arranged circumferentially of the support, tuck flap elevators intermediate the side and end wall elevators, said elevators being arranged in a substantially common plane subjacent to the blank on the support, said elevators being movable from said common plane to positions to move the side and end wall flaps to vertical positions with respect to the bottom, and to fold the tuck flaps inwardly into contact with the inside of the end walls, mechanism for effecting movement of said elevators to vertical position so that the end walls and tuck flap elevators rise from their initial positions to intermediate positions and pause, said mechanism including a rocker arm connected at its ends to the respective side wall elevators and spring means for biasing the rocker so that as it is raised to impart movement to the elevators one end precedes the other, and means for thereafter causing the end wall elevators to resume upward movement to their final position. v

4. in a machine for setting up flat box blanks of the kind having a bottom, sides and ends adapted to be folded upwardly therefrom, tuck flaps and locking tongues foldable over the ends and tuck flaps and engageable within slots at the junctions of the ends with the bottom, a place of setting up including a substantially flat support, upon which may be placed a fiat blank, hold-down means mounted for movement to and from the place of setting up, means for effecting movement of the hold-down from an out-of-the-way position into engagement with a blank at the place of setting up, side and end wall elevators arranged circumferentially of the support, tuck flap elevators intermediate the side and end wall elevators, said elevators being arranged in a substantially common plane subjacent to the blank on the support, mechanism for effecting movement of said end wall and tuck flap elevators simultaneously from their initial position in the plane of the support, upwardly to raise the end walls and tuck flaps to inclined positions with respect to the bottom of the box to be formed, means in said mechanism to bring the end wall and tuck flap elevators to rest with the end walls inclined upwardly and the side wall flaps bent inwardly into engagement with the insides of the end walls, mechanism for raising the side wall elevators to bend said side walls upwardly from prone positions to vertical positions while the end walls remain partially erected, means in said lastnamed mechanism for effecting movement of one of said end wall elevators ahead of the other so as to advance the tuck flaps of that wall inwardly along the inside of the end walls at a sharper angle than the tuck flaps at the ends of the other side wall, thereby to insure disposal of the tuck flaps at the ends of the wall erected first behind the tuck flaps of the other wall, said first-named mechanism being operable after the lagging one of the side walls has reached its vertical position to renew elevation of the end wall elevators to vertical positions.

5. In a machine for setting up flat box blanks of the kind having a bottom, sides and ends adapted to be folded upwardly therefrom, tuck flaps and locking tongues foldable over the ends and tuck flaps and engageable within slots at the junctions of the ends with the bottom, a place of setting up including a substantially flat support, upon which may be placed a flat blank, a hold-down mounted for movement to and from the place of setting up, means for eifecting movement of the hold-down from an out-ofthe-way position into engagement with a blank at the place of setting up, operating instrumentalities for erecting the end and side walls and tuck flaps of the blank and for thereafter folding the locking flaps into engagement with the inside end portions of the box, said instrumentalities including articulate members at opposite sides of the support subjacent to the end walls and locking flaps, spaced side members fore and aft of the support subjacent to the end portions of the side walls, and corner members located at the four corners of the support between the articulated members and the spaced side wall members subjacent to the tuck flaps, each articulate member consisting of two sections hinged to the support for movement in a common plane from a prone position to a vertical position, and hinged together for movement of one section relative to the other, mechanism for elevating the articulate members bodily with its sections in a common plane to vertical positions, thereby to lift the end walls and locking flaps to vertical positions, means in said mechanism to cause the articulate members to dwell for a predetermined length of time in its upward movement so that the end walls and locking flaps are inclined, said corner members being movable with the articulate members to lift the tuck flaps upwardly and having portions thereon which press the articulate members for causing the tuck flaps to precede the end walls, mechanism for raising the side wall members about their hinges from their prone positions to vertical positions to raise the side walls to positions at right angles to the bottom during the predetermined delay of the end wall elevators, a delay motion in said lastnarned mechanism for effecting erection of one pair of side wall elevating members ahead of the other pair so that one side wall reaches its vertical position ahead of the other, said means for efiecting the dwell being designed to restore upward movement to the articulate members following erection of the side walls to vertical positions, and means for thereafter effecting relative movement of the sections of said articulate means to fold the locking tongues inwardly and downwardly into engagement with the insides of the end walls and to tuck the locking tongues into the slots in the bottom.

6. in a machine for setting up flat box blanks of the kind having a bottom, sides and ends adapted to be folded upwardly therefrom, tuck flaps and locking tongues foldable over the ends and tuck flaps and engageable within slots at the junctions of the ends with the bottom, a place of setting up including a substantially flat support upon which may be placed fiat blanks, a hold-down mounted for movement to and from the place of setting up, setting up instrumentalities arranged peripherally of the support subjacent to the end and side walls of a blank resting on the support, said setting up instrumentalities being movable to erect the end and side walls while the bottom of the blank is held against the support by the hold-down, positioning members arranged about the support including fore and aft members, said forward members being initially fixed and said rear members being movable from extended positions greater than the dimensions of the blank forwardly and laterally to shift a blank resting on the support into engagement with the forward members and into transverse registration with the setting up instrumentalities, said fixed members being arranged to be retracted to a position below the support, moved rearwardly while retracted below the support and then elevated to positions above the support behind the blank for forward movement to their initial position, feeding means for delivering blanks one at a time to'the support within the positioning means, and means for effecting operation of the foregoing component parts of the machine in sequence to feed a blank to the support, effect movement of the positioning members to register the blank with the setting up instrumentalities, lower the hold-down into contact with the bot- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Brown Mar. 30, 1915 Holman May 18, 1926 Cake Jan. 4, 1949 Spinale Oct. 25, 1949 Levkoff Jan. 1, 1952 

